Roller aligner



Nov.29, 1938.v I K. L. 'HERRMANN I 2,138,601

J I I v ROLLER ALIGNER FiidNDec. 20, 1954 4 Sheet-Sheet 2 I\NVENITOR.llar/ L Her/mann- ATT Nov. 29, 1938. H-ERRMANN 2,138,601

ROLLER ALIGNER Filed Dec. 20, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 r 5 INVENTOR. 5E *1lfar/ L Herr/170m 93 BY 8/ a WNEY Patented Nov. 29, 1938 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFlCE The Bantam Ball Bearing Company,

South Bend, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Application December 20,1934, Serial No. 758,355

8 Claims.

This application is a continuation in part, of my copending application,Serial No. 712,373, filed February 21, 1934, entitled Thrust bearingsand relates to bearings for use in heavy duty machinery such, forexample, as paper calenderlng machines, rolling mills and other machineshaving rollers on which a heavy load is exerted.

The principal object of my invention is to provide means which willcompensate for deflection or misalignment of a roller, or a plurality ofrollers, subjected to heavy loads to thus relieve the bearings thereforfrom strain and thrust usually imposed thereon.

A further object is to provide an anti-friction member interposedbetween a bearing supporting a. roller subjected to a heavy load such,for example, as a rolling mill roller or calendering machine roller, anda fixed support which will relieve the strain on the bearing due todeflection or end wise movement of the roller.

Another object is to provide in a machine having a roller subjected toheavy loads, a bearing for the roller and means associated with thebearing which will permit movement thereof relative to its support torelieve any strain imposed thereon due to deflection or end-wisemovement of the roller.

Still another object is to provide ,a bearing which will compensate forthe misalignment of 30 a plurality of rollers such as paper calenderingrollers, and thus relieve the thrust imposed on the bearing for suchrollers when they tend to shift end-wise due to an unleveled setting ofthe machine.

A further object is to provide a bearing which will permit the severalrollers in a vertical stack to rotate freely in their bearings eventhough the vertical support for such rollers is out of perfect alignmentor the longitudinal axes of the-rollers are not exactly horizontal orparallel.

Yet another object is, to provide in a calender stack a bearinginterposed between the bottom roller and one of its supports which willpermit of limited longitudinal movement of the roller relative to itssupport.

Further objects, and objects relating to details of construction andmethods of manufac-.

bearing aligner interposed between the roller and.

a support therefor.

is an end elevational view of a calender Fig. 4 is a sectional viewshowing the bearing aligner taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3, certain ofthe parts being in full lines to bettershow the invention.

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken. on the line 66 of Fig. 3,showing one of the rollers and the retainer therefor interposed betweenthe calender roller bearing and the support therefor.

Fig. 7 shows the contact or wear plates set in the base and the bearingfor the calender roller against which one of the aligning rollers isadapted to contact.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view showing the driveend of a calender roller taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 9 is an end view of the modified form of bearing aligner,-,showingthe bearing cage and bearing support in section.

Fig. 10 isa plan 'view of the bearing aligner taken on the line I 0|0 ofFig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a detailed sectional View taken on the broken line I Ill ofFig. 10.

Fig. 12-is an end view of another modified form of bearing alignershowing the bearing cage and bearing support in section...

Fig. 13 is a sectional view looking'in the same direction as Fig. 12,taken on the line I3I3 of Fig. 14.

Fig. 14 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line Mld of Fig. 12.

Fig. 15 is a diagrammatic sectional view showing the roller of thebearing aligner positioned between wear plates having fiat bearingfaces.

Fig. 16 is a View similar to Fig. 15, showing wear plates having concavebearing faces.

Fig. '17 is a view similar to Fig. 15, showing wear plates having convexbearing faces.

Fig. 18 is a view similarto Fig. 15 in which an elliptical member issubstituted for a roller.

Fig. 19 is a view similar to Fig. 16, including the elliptical membershown in Fig. 18.

Fig. 20 is a view similar to Fig. 17, including the elliptical membershown in Fig. 18.

In heavy duty machinery havingrollers subjected to heavy loads orthrusts, considerable difiiculty has been experienced in providingbearings for such rollers which will stand up in use because slightmisalignment of the rollers or deflections thereof will impose thrustand strain on the bearings, causing them to fail aftera short period oftime with the result that the expense,

of maintenance of such equipment is high and the loss of time in makingrepairs and replacement are considerable. To overcome these objections,I have provided an anti-friction member interposed between at least oneof the bearings the support therefor which will permit the bearfor therollers subjected to the heavy-load and,

ing to have limited movement relative to the supports, thus compensatingfor either or both the axial thrust and the radial thrust imposedthereon.

In Figs. 1 to 8 inclusive of the drawings, I have shown my invention asincorporated in a paper calendering machine and will first proceed withthe description of the invention as relating to that use. In papercalendering machines and other machines in which there are a pluralityof horizontal rollers mounted one on top of the other; that is, in avertical stack, it has been found extremely diflicult to set the frameor roller support with such accuracy that the bearings for the rollerswill be in true alignment with the journals on the rollers. In suchmachines there are frequently from nine to thirteen rollers havingdiameters varying from fourteen inches to thirtytwo inches in the stack,the rollers being of a length of three feet to twelve feet, depending onthe purpose for which the machine is used.

In such machines the work rollers are supported in radial bearingsmounted in raceways formed in the supports and it is extremely difficultto set the supports in perfect alignment so that the raceways areparallel and as the supports are not tied together to prevent one or theother of them from getting out of alignment, the longitudinal axes ofthe roller bearings are not coincident with the longitudinal axesof therollers. This will result in heavy loads being put on the bearings whichwill cause undue wear and early failure due either to deflection of therollers or slight longitudinal movement thereof.

To counteract the forces to which the roller bearings are subjected, Ihave provided a bearing aligner interposed between the bottom roller andbase of the support which will permit a slight end-wise movement of theroller to thus relieve the thrust put on the bearing for the roller,thus permitting normal operation of the same and prolonging the lifethereof.' If desired, a roller aligner may be used under each bearing atthe opposite ends of the bottom roller, or at one end only thereof.

While I have heretofore used the term roller bearing, I have referred tothe radial bearing for supporting an end of the calender roller and havenot referred to a type or design of bearing as distinguished from adifferent type such as a ball bearing.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, I have illustrated a paper calenderingmachine having side frame members l8 which are slotted at H to formraceways to receive the radial bearings l2 for a plurality of workrollers l3. The bottom roller M will be more particularly referred tolater on in the description, As it is desirable to apply some pressureto the rollers when the paper is run between them, I have shown anadjusting wheel l5 connected by a suitable rod l6 to a lever pivoted atl8 tothe frame member ID, there being a screw l9 bearing against theblock 20 which bears against the bearing |2 from the top roller l3, thepressure thereon being regulated by the handwheel I5. As the adjustingmeans of the calender roller forms no part of my invention, 'the samewill not be described in further detail.

Each of the rollers I3 is, of course, supported :in suitable radialbearings |2 carried in the raceway I l in each of the frame members ID,the

bearings being of any suitable design satisfactory for the purpose forwhich they are used. The bottom roller I4 is reduced at 2| at each endthereof to provide journals mounted in suitable bearings, one of whichis illustrated in Fig. 8. Also, the rollers may be rotated or driven bythe pulley B mounted on the extended end of one of the journals 2|.

Referring particularly to Fig. 8, this bearing comprises an inner racemember 22, an outer race member 23 between-which are interposed aplurality of rows of rollers 24 each carried in a suitable cage 25. Theouter race member 23 is mounted in a cage 26 which is held againstlongitudinal movement by stop members 21 positioned on opposite sides ofthe frame member Ill and roller i4 relative to the frame member I0, Ihave provided an anti-friction member, before referred to as a bearingaligner, interposed between a bearing for the roller I4 and the supporttherefor, or at both ends of the roller l4, if desired, which will nowbe described in detail.

A plurality of recesses 32 and'33 are formed respectively in the cage 26and the upper-face of the base of the frame ID in which are set hardeneddiscs 34 and 35 (see Figs. 6 and Di ,Interposed between discs 34 and 35are rollers 36 which are mounted in slots 31 formed in the retainer 38.An opening 39 is formed in the retainer 38 to receive a pin 48 whichextends into an opening 4| formed in the frame member 1., The lower endof the pin is preferably round while the upper end thereof isrectangular and is provided with recesses 42 in the opposed facesthereof. Openings 43 are provided in the retainer 38 into which coilsprings 44 are inserted to abut against the recesses 42 in the pin 40,as shown-in Figs. 4 and 5, the springs being held under compression bythe screws 45. By this construction, the retainer 38 is maintained in aneutral position by the springs 44 but if the same is moved in eitherdirection from its neutral position, it will move against thecompression of one or the other of the springs. When the load which hascaused the retainer 38 and the rollers 36 to shift from neutral positionis removed, the retainer and rollers will return to neutral position, asshown in Fig. 4. It will thus be seen that as an end thrust is appliedto the roller H to move it in an end-wise direction, the rollers 36'willpermit a slight shifting of the roller relative to its end bearing andthus relieve any twisting or pinching of the hearing which would occurwith-' out the use of the thrust bearing.

My invention finds utility in heavy duty machinery having one or morerollers spaced horizontally and is not confined to rollers mounted in avertical stack as described in connection with paper calenderingmachines, it having been found that an equal advantage will be obtainedby the use of my invention in connection with rollers which are subjectto' deflection as well as, or instead of, end-wise movement.

In Figs. 9 to 11 inclusive, I have shown a modified form of my inventionin which the frame of the machine 50 is provided with a wear plate 5|thereon and the bearing cage 52 is also provided with a wear plate 53between which the bearing aligner is interposed. As illustrated, I haveprovided a pair of upstanding supports 54 on the plate 5| attachedthereto by the bolts 55 which are journaled at 58 to receive outwardlyextending bearing members 51 formed on the retainer 58. The retainer 58is formed with a recess 59 therein to receive the roller 68. As it isdesirable to provide the minimum contact between the roller 68 and theretainer 58, I, therefore, provide a plurality of pads or projections 6|thereon which contact only with the roller 8|]. The bearing members 51mounted in the journals 58 in the mem bers or plates 54 prevent end-wisemovement of the retainer 58 and the roller 60 carried thereby; however,the retainer and roller are pemitted to move in a plane substantiallyparallel ,with the longitudinal axes of the members 51. I provide acentering means for the retainer 58 which comprises a plurality of pins62 supported by the supports 54, each having a pointed head 63 engagingin a correspondingly shaped recess 64 formed inthe retainer 58. Each. ofthe supports 54 is recessed at 65 and a coiled spring 66 is interposedbetween the head 63 on the pin 62 and the bottom of the recess 65. Ipreferably provide one of these centering means on each side of theretainer 58 adjacent to the respective end thereof, as is bestillustrated'in Fig. 10. It will thus be seen that the bearing for thework roller is permitted to move relative to the support 58 which may beoccasioned either by the end-wise movement of the roller causing thebearing 52 to shift therewith or by a deflection of the work rollerwhich would cause a slight tilting of the bearing cage 52 and that ineither event the'bearing is permitted to move relative to the support,thus compensating for any strain or thrust imposed thereon which it isevident will materially lengthen the life ofthe bearing.

In Figs. 12 and 14 inclusive, I have illustrated another form of myinvention which is very similar to that illustrated in Figs. 9 to 11inclusive in which I have shown the base 50, the bearing cage' 52 andthe respective wear plates 5| and 53, as in the previously describedconstruction. In this construction the bearing aligner comprises the Ihaving the bearing members 5'1 journaled at 56,

cage 10 having a recess H therein to receive the rollers 68, the cagebeing provided with ears I2 extending over the ends of the wear plate toprevent longitudinal movement of the retainer and the rollers relativeto its support; that is, the retainer is provided with ears -12 insteadof as shown in the preceding views. In this modification, the centeringmeans comprises bolts 13, each having a nut 14 thereon extending throughthe upstanding support 15 bolted on the base 58, the upstanding portionsbeingrecessed at 15 to receive the coiled spring 11 interposed betweenthe head of the bolt 13 and the bottom. of the recess I6, thusmaintaining the bearing aligner normally in its neutral position. Inthis construction I have shown apair of rollers 60 placed end-to-end inthe retainer 18; however, it will be understood that one roller may beemployed if so desired but commercially I find it advantageous to use aplurality of rollers, as illustrated.

I preferably provide a plurality of rollers in the bearing aligner sothat there will be a minimum amount of friction between the bearing cageand its support in the event the roller having the aligner beneath itsbearing is deflected laterally relative to its support because in thetwisting or movement of the aligner in that direction}, one of therollers is permitted to roller in one direction and the other roller inthe opposite direction. By the use of the plurality of rollers asdescribed, it will thus be seen that the bearing aligner not only willcompensate for longitudinal movement of the work roller but alsodeflection of the roller in both horizontal and vertical planes so thatunder any of these conditions the bearing therefor is permitted to movewith the work roller journal to vmaintain an equal thrust on the bearingunder any of the working conditions towhich the work roller issubjected.

In conventional constructions heretofore mentioned in which the workroller is supported by anti-friction bearings upon deflection of thework roller, the journal in its bearing moves from its true longitudinalaxis thus throwing the load on one edgeof the bearing. This preventsfull distribution of the load on the bearing, thus causing excessivewear on one edge of the race members and the anti-friction membersinterposed therebetween so that the life ofthe bearing is relativelyshort which of necessity requires frequent replacement of parts and lossof the use of the machine while such repairs are being made. The bearingaligner heretofore described permits the bearing for the work roller totilt or move with the journal so that the load is distributed equally onthe bearing in the same manner as though there were no deflection of thework roller.

In Figs. 15 to 20, I have diagrammatically shown different forms ofanti-friction members of the bearing aligner positioned between wearplates supported respectively by the bearing cage and machine support.In Fig. 15, I have shown the roller 60 positioned between wear plates 80and 8| which respectively correspond with the wear plates 34 and 35 and5| and 53 described in the preceding views. In this form, it will beseen that if the wear plate 80 is shifted longitudinally relative to thewear plate 8| and is also tilted, as previously described, that therewill be a slight movement of the bearing and consequently the workroller relative to the support moving the work roller closer to thesupport due to the fact that the bearing plate 80 will shift from theline F.

For some uses the construction shown in Fig. 15 is to be preferred butin other machines it is desirable to provide a greater contact areabetween the roller and the wear plates and I have, therefore, shown inFig. 16the roller 80 interposed between wear plates 80 and 8| whichrespectively have concave bearing faces 82 and 83. The amount ofcurvature of the faces 82 and 83 can, of course, be varied in difierentsizes and types of machines in accordance with the load imposed on thework roller or depending on the size of the roller 68. The greater areaof contact between the roller and wear plates has advantage insomemachines in that there is less danger than in the previously describedconstructions of the roller 60 scoring the wear plates.

In Fig. 17, I have shown a roller 60 interposed between the wear plates80 and 8| which re-' spectively areprovided with convex bearing faces 84and 85. As stated above in connection with Fig. 16, the curvature of thebearing faces Bland 85 can be varied for use in machines havingdifferent requirements but it will be seen, however, that with thisconstruction the bearing faces 84 and 85 can be 'so formed that upontilting of the wear plate 88 relative to the wear plate 8|, the samedistance can be maintained between the roller and the support aswhen'the roller is in true alignment and has not been subjected todeflection.

In Fig. 18, I have shown a construction similar to Fig. 15 but in whichI have substituted an ellipticalanti-friction member '88 for the roller68,

the same being positioned between wear plates 88 and 8| having flatbearing faces. When it is desired to reduce the over-all height of themachine, it is sometimes desirable to substitute the ellipti- 5 calmember 86 for the roller 60 because it will be apparent that this memberprovides the same bearing surface contact with the wear plates88- and 8|as would a roller having a diameter indicated by the dotted line 0. ThusI am enabled 10 to provide an anti-friction member in the roller alignerwhich has the same bearing surface contact with the wear plates as theroller C but which will permit bringing the wear plates 88 and 8| muchcloser together.

In Fig. 19, I have shown a construction similar to Fig. 16 but in whichI have substituted the elliptical member 86 for the roller 60 and inwhich I provide for the greater surface contact between! I theanti-friction member and the wear plates 20 than is possible in theconstruction shown in Fig.

18 and which has the same advantages as the construction previouslydescribed in connection with Fig. 16. In Fig. 20, I have shown aconstruction similar to Fig. 17 but in which I have also substituted theelliptical member 86 for the roller 60 and which will permit of theseveral advantages as described in connection with Fig. 17,.it beingevident that the convex faces 84 and 85 on the wear plates 88 and 8|will'permit the elliptical member 88 to tilt and also the wear plate 80to tilt and with it the bearing for the work roller without separatingthe members 88 and 8|, thus maintaining the bearings for the work rollerin the same position 5 relative to the frame as though the work rollerhad not been deflected.

While I have shown several embodiments of my invention, it will beevident that modifications can be made therein without departing fromthe 40 spirit and substance of my invention, the scope of which is to bemeasured entirely by the subjoined claims.

What I claim is:

1. In combination with a machine having 45 spaced supports and rollersarranged in a vertical stack carried by said supports, means to permitlongitudinal movement of the bottom roller relative to said supportscomprising, a thrust bearing interposed between said bottom roller 50and one of said supports, said bearing having spaced rollers, a retainertherefor having openings extending therethrough, pins extending intosaid openings secured in said support, and resilient means at oppositesides of each of said 55 pins to permit the rolling of said bearingrollers between said bottom roller and support and to return saidbearing rollers to a predetermined position.

2. A thrust bearing to permit longitudinal 80 movement and deflection ofa roller and antie friction bearing therefor relative to their supportcomprising, an anti-friction member interposed between said roller andsupport, means to permit rolling of said anti-friction member parallelwith 65 the longitudinal axis of said roller, and resilient means toreturn said anti-friction member to a predetermined position.

3. A thrust bearing to permit longitudinal movement of a roller relativeto its support com- 70 prising, a radial bearing for said roller, athrust roller interposed between said radial bearing and support, aretainer for said thrust roller, means extending from said su'pportintoan aperture in said retainer, and means supported by said retainerengaging said first means to normallyv maintain said roller in apredetermined position, said means permitting said thrust roller to rollparallel with the longitudinal axis of said first roller whenlongitudinal thrust is applied to the latter.

4. In combination with a machine having spaced supports and a rollersubject to deflection, bearings for said roller carried in said support,

at least one of said bearings having movement relative to its support,and an anti-friction bearing having free rolling movement between saidmovable bearing and its support to, permit tilting and axial movement ofsaid bearing upon deflection of said roller from its longitudinal axis.

5. In combination with a machine having spaced supports and a workrollersubject todeflection and limited end-wise movement, bear ings for saidroller carried in said support, at least one of said bearings adapted tomove out I of alignment relative to its support, and an antisupports, atleast one of said bearings having movement relative to its support, andmeans to permit said movable bearing to move with said work roller upondeflection of the work roller supported therein comprising, a rollerretainer positioned transversely to said work roller interposed betweensaid movable bearing and its support, a roller in said retainer alsopositioned transversely to said* work roller engaging said movablebearing and its support to permit axial movement of said bearing uponradial deflection of said work roller,v and means to return saidtransverse roller to a predetermined position.

7. In combination with a machine having spaced supports and rollersarranged in a vertical stack carried by said supports, anti-frictionbearings for said rollers, means to permit longitudinal movement anddeflection from the longitudinal axis of the bottom roller and at leastone of the bearings therefor relative to said supports comprising, athrust bearing interposed between said bottom roller and a support forsaid one bearing, said thrust bearing having spaced rollers in endto-endrelation, a retainer therefor, and resilient means for permitting therolling of said bearing rollers between said bottom roller and supportand to return said bearing rollers to a predetermined position.

. 8. In combination with a machine having spaced supports, bearingscarried thereby, at least one of said bearings having movement relativeto its support, a work roller inserted in said bearings, and a rollerinterposed between said bearing and support having free rolling movementtherebetween whereby said movable hearing will tilt with said workroller upon deflection of said work roller from its longitudinal axis."

KARL L. HERRMANN.

